Accurate metacognitive monitoring improves performance in a variety of naturalistic contexts. However, the laboratory contexts used to study metacognition differ from naturalistic environments in important ways. Specifically, laboratory experiments require learners to make repeated, overt judgments that are thought to reflect underlying…

When we monitor our learning, often measured via judgments of learning (JOLs), this metacognitive process can change what is remembered. For example, prior work has demonstrated that making JOLs enhances memory for related, but not unrelated, word pairs in younger adults. In the current study, we examined potential age-related differences in…

Making judgments of learning (JOLs) can sometimes modify subsequent memory performance, which is referred to as JOL reactivity. We evaluated two major theoretical explanations of JOL reactivity and used the dual-retrieval model to pinpoint the retrieval processes that are modified by JOLs. The changed-goal hypothesis assumes that JOLs highlight…

The empirical evidence concerning the question whether an instructor should be presented on online lecture slides is equivocal and two lines of theoretical reasoning exist. On the one hand, the instructor may distract from the content, thereby hampering learning; on the other hand, the instructor may function as a social cue that triggers a more…

Digital learning increasingly makes use of realistic visualizations, although realism can be demanding for learners. Color coding is a popular way of helping learners understand visualizations and has been found to aid in learning with detailed visualizations. However, previous research has shown that color coding must not always be an effective…

Color has been investigated as a signaling cue in multimedia learning environments, guiding the learner's attention and as an emotional design element, increasing the learner's motivation and, thus, improving learning outcomes. Retrieval cues (e.g., visual cues, odor, sound) facilitating memory retrieval have been primarily investigated in…

Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to remember to complete a task at the appropriate moment in the future. Past research has found reminders can improve PM performance in both laboratory and naturalistic settings, but few projects have examined the circumstances when and what types of reminders are most beneficial. Three experiments in…

Background: There are only few guidelines on how instructional videos should be designed to optimize learning. Recently, the effects of social cues on attention allocation and learning in instructional videos have been investigated. Due to inconsistent results, it has been suggested that the visual complexity of a video influences the effect of…

Generative AI (GenAI) has the potential to revolutionize the analysis of educational data, significantly impacting learning analytics (LA). This study explores the capability of non-experts, including administrators, instructors, and students, to effectively use GenAI for descriptive LA tasks without requiring specialized knowledge in data…

The purposes of the present investigation were to attempt to replicate the negative effects for learning prompts in older adults reported by Cavanagh, Kraiger and Peters (2016), determine if the impact of learning prompts depends on type of prompt, and investigate the two possible explanations of the negative impact of prompts -- increased…

The instructor's eye gaze can serve as an important social cue in video lectures. The current study used two sets of three-level meta-analyses to explore the effects of the instructor's guided gaze or the instructor's direct gaze on learning outcomes, fixation time, perception of parasocial interaction, and cognitive load. A total of eight…

Background: In example-based learning, examples are often combined with generative activities, such as comparative self-explanations of example cases. Comparisons induce heavy demands on working memory, especially in complex domains. Hence, only stronger learners may benefit from comparative self-explanations. While static text-based examples can…

In this study, the effects of using cueing with a narrator in animations on science learning and cognitive load level of elementary students have been revealed. For this purpose, a quantitative research design is used in the study. 223 third grade students, 124 of them are girls and 99 of them are boys, have formed the sample. The results show…

Modern text-to-speech voices can convey social cues ideal for narrating multimedia learning materials. Amazon Alexa has a unique feature among modern text-to-speech vocalizers as she can infuse enthusiasm cues into her synthetic voice. In this first study examining modern text-to-speech voice enthusiasm effects in a multimedia learning…

Pre-recorded lectures have become a prevalent approach in online education due to the proliferation of MOOC platforms and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the lack of real-time interactions between instructors and learners, learners have encountered various difficulties in understanding the lectures and actively engaging with the learning…